Rock News

Lemmy Kilmister & Motorhead manager address singer's health issues

Motorhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister says it's "been a bit of a job" to maintain his health.

The rocker tells "Decibel" magazine he's had to make some tough dietary and lifestyle changes because of his diabetes. He says he no longer eats bread, smokes, or drinks Jack Daniels and Coke -- which he really misses.

However, Motorhead manager Todd Singerman says Lemmy would "be lying to you if he said he stopped" drinking hard liquor entirely. He adds that Lemmy's "compromise with the doctors" is to substitute wine for whiskey, because "he doesn't grasp that he's just trading one demon for the other," and that Lemmy doesn't tell his doctors just how much he drinks every day.

Singerman explains that Lemmy has been "doing all this stuff on a daily basis" since the 1960s. He says it's "sad" for the rocker, "because he's gotten away with this stuff for all this time" and now "it's coming to roost."

Singerman adds that Lemmy's trying to take better care of himself. He says Kilmister "needs to find a balance and then live that balance for a few months," but it's been a struggle. He explains that Lemmy "has great days" and then slips up and backslides.

The Motorhead manager explains that he forced Motorhead to cancel last fall's tour after Lemmy's health issues plagued the band's summer trek. But Motorhead is making plans to return to the road.

The group is scheduled to launch a European trek in Glasgow, Scotland next month. And they'll be heading to this side of the Atlantic in the spring. Motorhead is scheduled to appear at Coachella in Indio, California on April 13th and 20th.